composer

John Blow (1649 – October 1, 1708) was an English composer and organist. His pupils included William Croft and Henry Purcell. Blow was probably born at North Collingham in Nottinghamshire. He became a chorister of the Chapel Royal, and distinguished himself by his proficiency in music. He composed several anthems at an unusually early age, including Lord, Thou host been our refuge, Lord, rebuke me not and the so-called "club anthem", I will always give thanks...

Frederick Delius (1862 – 1934) was an English composer whose musical style is characterized by chromaticism, although it is still largely tonal with luscious harmonies - mainly slow moving, with the frequent use of leitmotifs and constantly evolving melody. Orchestral excerpts from his operas, for example La Calinda from Koanga — which originated in the 1880's Florida Suite — and The Walk to the Paradise Garden from A Village Romeo and Juliet, are also reasonably often played and recorded, as are orchestral works such as On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring.

Joseph-Maurice Ravel (7th March 1875–28th December 1937) was a French composer and pianist. His piano music, chamber music, and orchestral works have become staples in the repertoire. Ravel's piano compositions, such as Miroirs and Gaspard de la nuit are virtuosic, and his orchestrations, such as in Daphnis et Chloë and his orchestral arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, are notable for the effective use of tonal color and variety of sound and instrumentation.

Jennifer Higdon (born December 31, 1962) is an American composer of classical music and flutist. Higdon was born in Brooklyn, but spent her first 10 years in Atlanta before moving to Tennessee. With almost no advanced flute training, she studied at Bowling Green State University towards a degree in flute performance. While at Bowling Green she met Robert Spano, who was teaching a conducting course there; Spano would go on to be the foremost champion of Higdon's music in the American orchestral community.